Can 187,586 Buyers Be Wrong? Consumer Reports Thinks So

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

“Just because a car generates a lot of buzz or is a best seller doesn’t mean that it’s a good choice for you. The five models here may be on a lot of buyers’ shopping lists, but we suggest you steer clear…”

So says Consumer Reports with respect to their list of “Five popular cars to avoid”. CR says that the vehicles “…didn’t perform well in our testing or they suffer from subpar reliability,” and that’s reason enough to stay away. I’m not entirely convinced.

We at TTAC respect the hell out of Consumer Reports. Unlike other parties in the buff book business, we never crack appliance-related jokes about their testing methods or dismiss them as lab coated slide-ruler jockeys. When they have something to say, we take it seriously.

Whipping boy number one is, of course, the 2012 Honda Civic. There are elements within TTAC who don’t like the car, for valid reasons. But as I explored in a previous column, it does have enough merit that it’s worth buying. And it’s been vetted by my Grandma. CR even recommends the Subaru Impreza over the Honda Civic; make no mistake, it’s a nice car, but there’s no way that they can criticize the Civic’s “mediocre interior” while ignoring the Impreza.

CR also lists the Dodge Grand Caravan, Toyota Prius c, Ford Edge V6 and Jeep Liberty as vehicles to stay away from. Having had inadequate seat time in them, I can’t say in good faith how accurate these picks are. Feel free to let me know in the comments.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Geeber Geeber on Aug 10, 2012

    According to an insider on templeofvtec.com, the 2013 Civic will feature a new hood, headlights, taillights and front bumper. The interior is being redone, and this person claims it will be a "9" on a scale of 1-10 (he rated the current car as a "3"). Granted, on the internet, one can say anything, but he has proved credible in the past (he gave a description of the styling and size of the 2013 Accord that has turned out to be accurate). And comparing Honda to GM is very premature. GM would criticize the critics, pile on the incentives, dump 50 percent of production on Avis, Hertz and Alamo and then tell us to wait for the NEXT version. Honda is moving quickly to address critics' complaints...we'll see how successful that effort has been in a few weeks.

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    • Brian P Brian P on Aug 10, 2012

      The big question, will be whether they fix sound insulation, suspension calibration, and power steering calibration. They had better do that, otherwise it's going to be lipstick on a pig ... changing the styling alone won't fix the various ride, NVH, and handling complaints.

  • Pickboz Pickboz on Aug 10, 2012

    CR are not perfect and they have their preferences , and like in every other thing their is a fashion, the one that says the Japanese are better, the other; the domestics car are better ect, and all that stuff got no influence on someone who knows to choose by himself. CR is a business so they want to attract attention with some good title and so they sale more! I do not think that they have a big influence on other who do not share their view. The only public that they will attract is the one that share that kind of thinking and keep them all the way.

  • Tedward Tedward on Aug 10, 2012

    I'd have to agree with the Prius C at least. A friend bought one out in CA and I took her out for a full day of deserted canyon driving in the little thing. Now I know that isn't the inteded purpose, but this car was heinously bad in this context. To the point where, owner having no reference points and me not dogging it to her face, she was starting to regret not getting a Mazda3 or Golf all on her own, and within 1000 miles of buying the car. We also averages around 21mpg, a number easily acheivable in hard driving with any number of compacts. Except for the automatic Honda CR-Z, this might very well be the worst drivetrain I have ever experienced in a motor vehicle. If you have standards at all, or think you might develop some in the future, avoid at all costs. In it's favor I've never seen milage figures as high as that car put out in LA driving, all without really trying. It's not something to brag about though when you take the purchase price and (lack of) interior quality into consideration.

  • CelticPete CelticPete on Aug 10, 2012

    "I recently purchased a 2012 Civic. I know there’s a lot of skepticism, but when it comes down to putting your money down on a car, I think it’s the safest choice when planning to spend nearly $20k in order to keep it ten+ years." Eh. I ain't seeing it. Cost of ownership will be about the same - and resale won't be that much different either. Your entire post acts like every car but the Civic and Corolla are likely to be some kind of non-stop disaster so of course you have to buy the Civic. This just isn't true IMHO. Modern cars - in both the manufacture and design are remarkably similiar. If they are taken care of poorly then don't work. Take care of them well and even the Jetta will last ten years. Sure spend your time on the internet looking for things to be unreliable and you are always rewarded. Because there is always a chance you will get a bad one - even if its a Honda. Basing your decision on 'reliability' is the 'appliance approach' in a nutshell. Which is of course is not wrong - but even Consumer reports thinks thats taking things too far. I have absolutely seen Consumer reports start to value things like ride and looks in their review. If you notice with regards to consumer reports despite all the Japanese metal they push they don't recommend extended warranties - because they don't feel you will have enough serious problems to break even. I look at it entirely differently probably because I am older and have owned more cars (just a guess). Get a car that you don't actually have at least a small emotional connection with and it just a few years there is a good chance you will be cursing it. That's the nice thing about buying a modern car - you pretty much can't go wrong so look for the one you like. Its not like back in the 1980s where you would buy a Renault Alliance and have it end up at the crusher in 50k miles. Cars are just much better then that now. I had a 1996 Civic. Still looking back I think I should have ponied up for a Mustang back then. They were only a bit more money and a ton more fun and there are a crapton of mustangs on the road right now despite they fact that they were unreliable.. Times are changing. Audi holds its value better then a Lexus.. And that's because they look and drive nice. The Japanese need to step up their game and sell more cars based on look, comfort, ride and performance. This is why Mazda has alot of fans - they have more cars with better looks and they are reliable enough.

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    • Mggkeefer Mggkeefer on Aug 11, 2012

      @mggkeefer "The Intrepid is not exactly a “modern” car in the context of this discussion. It was conceived 20 years ago, when the worst cars were worse by a wider margin than they are today." That's a valid argument. But read Steven Lang's review of the Sonic, which I wanted to like. The transmission reminds him of Volvos of years past. And the automatic gearbox of the current Focuses does not inspire confidence, though I think in general, Ford has come along way. I'm less convinced regarding Chrysler and to some extent GM's small cars (see CJinSD's comments regarding the Cruze). I still think many cars (maybe not as much as before) on the market today likely have reliability issues baked in, we just haven't seen them on the market place long enough. "As for today’s German cars being temperamental, keep in mind that this is an essential (if somewhat masochistic) part of their appeal. The BMW driver sees himself – or at least wants to be seen by others – as having an appreciation for the finer things in life as well as the deep pockets to back it up. This is not an engineering issue; it is a marketing one." Lexus sells very well even with a sterile driving experience. I imagine if BMW had their reliability up to par, they could sell even better. Maybe I'm wrong and part of their appeal is that they are unaffordable to the the average buyer. But if they could fix reliability to Lexus' levels, I'm sure they could charge a larger premium to keep it equally unaffordable and profit in the meantime.

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